Idin Dalpour charged with fraud in $43M crypto Ponzi scheme
Idin Dalpour has been charged with wire fraud related to an alleged Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of over $43 million, according to an indictment unsealed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Dalpour was arrested yesterday and is set to appear in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated, “Idin Dalpour told investors that they could reap huge returns by investing through him in a purported Las Vegas hospitality business and a crypto trading operation.” Williams further described how Dalpour’s promises turned out to be deceptive, as he allegedly used new investors’ money to pay purported returns to earlier investors, characterizing the operation as a classic Ponzi scheme.
According to the indictment, instead of investing the funds as promised in the Las Vegas business and crypto trading, Dalpour reportedly used the money for personal expenses, including gambling losses totaling approximately $1.7 million and paying for his children’s private school tuition.
In his pitch for a Las Vegas hospitality venture, Dalpour made several misleading claims. He falsely stated that his entity partnered with a management company and a well-known Las Vegas hotel to rent out condos to tourists. According to him, the hotel would also arrange entertainment packages for these visitors, which included dining, nightlife, and sporting events, and he would get a cut of these earnings. Moreover, he claimed that he owned shares in various sports stadiums in Las Vegas and would receive a share of the concession sales from these stadiums when visitors attended events there.
Dalpour acknowledged the scheme in November 2023 when confronted by a group of victims, stating, “what you already have, you have, you can put me in jail now. Like right now.”
The scheme, which targeted investors both in the U.S. and internationally, is alleged to have run from 2022 through April 2024. Dalpour now faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the wire fraud charge.
